Multi-tray instrument case

ABSTRACT

A multi-tray, protective storage and carrying case for delicate articles such as surgical instruments and the like. The case consists of a plurality of stackable instrument trays removably enclosed within a rigid, box-like case body. Each of the trays consists of a pad of elastically deformable plastic foam secured to and suspended within a peripheral frame. When stacked one on top of another within the case body, the top of one tray is situated in close proximity to the bottom of the overlying tray such that instruments resting on the first tray are cushioned from above and held in place by the foam pad in the overlying tray. Instruments in the uppermost tray of the stack are cushioned and held in place by a layer of elastically deformable plastic foam secured to the underside of the lid of the case. The trays can be removed from the case as a unit by means of handles secured to the rim of the lowermost tray.

United States Patent 1 McIntyre Dec. 11, 1973 1 MULTI-TRAY INSTRUMENTCASE [76] Inventor: David J. McIntyre, 3260 Lakewood Ave., South,Seattle, Wash. 98144 [22] Filed: May 20, 1971 211 Appl. No.: 145,417

206/16 S, 16 E, 46 FC, 63.2 R, 65 R, 65 K, DIG. 32; 217/53 R; 220/4 D, 9F, 17, 23.83, 97 B, 97 D, 97 C [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 3,410,391 11/1968 Kanter 206/46 FC UX 3,088,584 5/1963Kozikowski.... 206/12 3,286,834 l1/1966 English, Jr. 206/65 R 3,273,7799/1966 Mykleby 206/46 FC X 3,181,693 5/1965 Friestat 206/16 R X2,706,036 4/1955 Neal 206/16 R 2,943,733 7/1960 Poeschl et al 217/53 X3,155,267 ll/l964 Swett- 220/17 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 447,0193/1968 Switzerland 220/4 D Primary Examiner-George E. Lowrance AssistantExaminer-Steven E. Lipman Attorney-Christensen & Sanborn [57] ABSTRACT Amulti-tray, protective storage and carrying case for delicate articlessuch as surgical instruments and the like. The case consists of aplurality of stackable instrument trays removably enclosed within arigid, boxlike case body. Each of the trays consists of a pad ofelastically deformable plastic foam secured to and suspended within aperipheral frame. When stacked one on top of another within the casebody, the top of one tray is situated in close proximity to the bottomof the overlying tray such that instruments resting on the first trayare cushioned from above and held in place by the foam pad in theoverlying tray. Instruments in the uppermost tray of the stack arecushioned and held in place by a layer of elastically deformable plasticfoam secured to the underside of the lid of the case. The trays can beremoved from the case as a unit by means of handles secured to the rimof the lowermost tray.

18 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PMENTEDUEC H ms 3.777.882

- sum 10F 2 ATTOP/VEK? MULTI-TRAY INSTRUMENT CASE BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION This invention relates to a protective storage and carryingcase for surgical instruments and other delicate articles.

Although this is an age of rapid advancement in instrumentation, therehave been few innovations in the areas of storing and carrying surgicalinstruments. Existing cases for such instruments are in general archaic,consisting as they typically do of combinations of small containers andelastic straps.

It is an object of this invention to provide a durable, compact,convenient to use carrying case which will provide reliable protectionfor the vast assortment of small, variously-sized instruments that asurgeon is prone to carry. It is another object of this invention toprovide a surgical instrument carrying case having a plurality ofstackable instrument trays which cooperate with one another to cushionand hold in place instruments sandwiched therebetween. It is a furtherobject of this invention to provide a tray for use in a surgicalinstrument carrying case, which tray when stacked on another like trayserves both to support andcushion instruments placed thereon and also tocushion and hold in place instruments supported by the underlying tray.Another object is to provide such a tray which enables most efficientutilization of space within the case. Other objects and advantages ofthis invention willbecome apparent from the following description andthe drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention is directed to a protective casefor storing and carrying delicate articles such as surgical instruments.The case is comprised of a box-like case body, which is preferably of arigid, double-walled construction, a lid for the case body, and aplurality of trays removably enclosed within the case body. Each of thetrays comprises a soft, elastically deformable cushioning pad secured toand suspended with a substantially rigid frame extending peripherallyaround the pad. The trays are stacked one on another within the casebody with the bottom of the pad in a first tray situated in closeproximity to the top of the pad of a second tray such that articlessupported on and cushioned by the pad of the second tray are alsocushioned and held in place by the pad of the first tray. Preferably, apad of soft, elastically deformable material is secured to the undersideof the lid of the case, this pad serving to cushion and hold in placearticles on the uppermost tray when the lid is closed. The several padsused in the case of this invention are preferably made from sheets offoamed plastic materials such as polyurethane foam and foamed rubber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric viewof a preferred embodiment of the carrying case of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section view longitudinally through the case ofFIG. 1 in its closed position.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view as in FIG. 2 with surgical instrumentsenclosed within the case.

FIGS. 4-6 are partial, vertical section views of four differentembodiments of the tray according to this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS AND THE INVENTION Referring toFIGS. l-3, a carrying case according to this invention comprises a deep,upwardly open case body 2 and a hinged lid 4. Toggle linkages 6 areprovided for retaining the lid in its open position (FIG. 1). The casebody is constructed of an outer shell 8 and an inner shell 10 (FIGS. 2and 3), both of which are made of rigid, shock resistant, moldedplastic. The two shells are held together at their upper edges by acrimped metal rim 12. The lid consists of a shallow downwardly openrigid plastic shell 14 and a metal rim 16 crimped over the lower edgethereof. Secured to the underside of the lid is a soft, elasticallydeformable pad 17, the function of which is explained hereinafter.

In the bottom of the case body there is a foam base pad 19 on top ofwhich there is a second foam base pad 21 die-cut to receive bulkyinstruments such as specu- Iae, cautery and knives in their originalboxes. On top of thedie-cut pad there rests a stack of four instrumenttrays 18. If it is desired to use a greater number of trays, one or bothof pads 19 and 21 can be removed. Each of the trays consists of a soft,elastically deformable foam pad 24, secured to and suspended within asubstantially rigid frame 22 extending peripherally about the pad. Thelowermost tray is provided with upwardly extending handles 26 riveted tothe ends of the frame. The handles extend upwardly beyond the uppermosttray of the stack so that the trays can be removed from the case as aset. After removal, the trays can be unstacked and placed on a flatsurface, leaving each instrument clearly visible for selection.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 in particular, it will be observed that thelowermost tray 18 rests on the die-cut pad 21 which in turn rests on thefoam pad 19. The frame 22 of each succeeding tray rests on the foam padof the next lower tray such that the pads in each tray are positioned inclose proximity to one another. Each tray thus cooperates with the nextlower tray to cushion and hold in place articles supported thereon, thelowermost tray cushioning articles situated in the die-cut pad. When thelid of the case is closed as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the foam pad on theunderside of the lid is so disposed as to cushion and hold in placearticles supported on the uppermost tray and also to press downwardly onthe uppermost tray and the handles 26 sufficiently to compress the stackof trays causing the foam pads therein to conform to the instrumentssituated therebetween. Preferably, each of the tray pads is readilystretchable in either direction out of the plane of the frame to whichit is secured such that the several tray pads can flex or yieldcumulatively, enabling any tray to accomodate thick as well as thinobjects and contributing to the combined protective capability of thetrays. The lid of the case should be hinged to the case body such that,as the lid is being closed and the pad 17 on the underside of the lidcontacts the uppermost tray, the movement of the lid is principallyvertical such that articles supported on the uppermost tray will not bemoved about.

FIGS. 4 6 show three different embodiments of the tray according to thisinvention. In each of these embodiments the foam pad is secured to arigid plastic rim by an adhesive, not shown.

The tray of FIG. 4 is of the same construction as those shown in FIG. 1through 3. The frame 22 has an upturned rim 28 about its upper outsideedge and an inturned flange 30 about its bottom edge, the foam pad 24resting on the latter. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the bottom of theframe in each tray rests upon the top surface of the foam pad of thetray immediately below, thus placing the pad in each tray in closeproximity to the pads in the immediately overlying and underlying trays.

In the tray shown in FIG. 5, the top and'bottom surfaces of the foam pad24 are covered with layers of tightly woven fabric 32 which serve toprevent points on instruments or other articles stored in the case fromsticking into the foam pads. The pad and layers of fabric are gluedtogether about their edges. The edges of the pad and fabric aresandwiched between two frame elements 30 and 34, each of which is gluedto the other and to the edges of the pad and fabric which it contacts.The two element frame construction facilitates rapid assembling of thetray, renders the frame more rigid, and serves to hide the adhesive usedto secure together the'various tray components.

In FIG. 6, the edge of the pad is sandwiched between two inturnedflanges 36 and 38 extending around the top and bottom edges of theframe, the upper flange 36 hiding the adhesive securing the pad to theframe.

While the invention has been disclosed by reference to the presentlypreferred embodiments thereof, it will be recognized that changes andalterations can be made without departing from the spirit and intendedscope of the following claims. For example, the top and bottom surfacesof the pads in the instrument trays can be corrugated or provided withslits or recesses for receiving particular instruments.

I claim:

1. A case for storing and transporting a plurality of delicate articlescomprising a case body; a plurality of trays removably enclosed withinsaid case body, each of said trays comprising a soft, elasticallydeformable pad and a substantially rigid framing element secured to andextending peripherally around said pad, said trays being stacked one onanother with the bottom of the pad of a first tray situated in closeproximity to the top of the pad of a second tray whereby articlessupported on the pad of said second tray are cushioned and held in placeby the pad of said first tray; and means for removing said trays fromsaid case body as a unit, comprising a pair of handles secured to thelowermost of said trays.

2. The case of claim 1 wherein the pads in said trays are comprised of afoamed plastic.

3. The case of claim 1 wherein the top and bottom of a pad are eachcomprised of a layer of thin, flexible material.

4. The case of claim 1 wherein said case body comprises opposing top andbottom walls and first and second pairs of opposing side walls, said topwall being movable to open and close said case body and having a layerof soft, elastically deformable material secured to the undersidethereof, said layer being operatively disposed when said case is closedproximate the uppermost of said trays to cushion and hold in placearticles supported on the top of said uppermost tray.

5. The case of claim 4 wherein the pads in said trays and said layer ofdeformable material are comprised of a foamed plastic.

6. A case for storing and transporting a plurality of delicate articlescomprising a rigid box-like enclosure having a bottom, sides and a lidthat can be raised; soft, elastically deformable cushioning padssubstantially covering the inside faces of said bottom and lid; and astack of generally horizontal artical support trays extendingsubstantially the distance between said pads, each of said trayscomprising a soft, elastically deformable cushioning pad having exposedtop and bottom faces proximately positioned to respectively adjacentpads, and a rigid framing element extending peripherally therearound,and each of said tray pads being stretchable out of the plane of theframe to which it is secured.

7. The case of claim 6 wherein said tray pads are comprised of foamedplastic.

8. The case of claim 6 wherein substantially the entire thickness of atray pad consists of a single layer of foamed plastic.

9. A case for storing and transporting a plurality of delicate articlescomprising a rigid box-like enclosure having a bottom, sides and a lidthat can be raised; soft, elastically deformable cushioning padssubstantially covering the inside faces of said bottom and lid; a stackof generally horizontal article support trays extending ity.

10. A case for storing and transporting delicate articles, comprising acase body having a bottom and enclosing sides, support means in thebottom portion of the case body, and a plurality of collectively andindividually removable trays arranged in a vertical stack on the supportmeans, between the lower and upper limits of the sides of the case body,and each comprised of a substantially rigid framing element having a topand a bottom and a widely dimensioned vertical opening therein, and acontinuously uninterrupted elastically deformable pad in the opening,the body of which pad substantially fills the opening and isperipherally interconnected with the framing element so as to besupportively retained in the opening with the upper and lower facesthereof extending across the opening substantially co planar with thetop and bottom of the element, said trays resting on top of one anotherin mutually adjacent relationship so that the upper face of each pad isproximate to the lower face of the pad immediately thereabove, and saidsupport means operatively supporting the stack of pads so that articlesinterposed between each pair of pads will be cushioned and held in placeby the respective pads.

1 1. The case according to claim 10 wherein the framing element of eachtray has an upturned rim about the top thereof.

12. The case according to claim 11 wherein the rim of each tray isadapted so that the bottom of the tray immediately thereabove can reston the pad of the respective tray, loosely within the rim thereof.

13. The case according to claim 10 wherein the framing element of eachtray has an inturned flange about the bottom thereof.

17. The case according to claim 10 further comprising a lid on the casebody, said stack further comprising an additional tray which is arrangedon top of the stack to project above the upper limit of the sides of thecase body, said lid having an elastically deformable pad secured thereinwhich is disposed in proximity to the additional tray to cushion andhold in place articles to be placed therebetween.

18. The case according to claim 17 wherein the lid is hingedly connectedto the case body.

1. A case for storing and transporting a plurality of delicate articlescomprising a case body; a plurality of trays removably enclosed withinsaid case body, each of said trays comprising a soft, elasticallydeformable pad and a substantially rigid framing element secured to andextending peripherally around said pad, said trays being stacked one onanother with the bottom of the pad of a first tray situated in closeproximity to the top of the pad of a second tray whereby articlessupported on the pad of said second tray are cushioned and held in placeby the pad of said first tray; and means for removing said trays fromsaid case body as a unit, comprising a pair of handles secured to thelowermost of said trays.
 2. The case of claim 1 wherein the pads in saidtrays are comprised of a foamed plastic.
 3. The case of claim 1 whereinthe top and bottom of a pad are each comprised of a layer of thin,flexible material.
 4. The case of claim 1 wherein said case bodycomprises opposing top and bottom walls and first and second pairs ofopposing side walls, said top wall being movable to open and close saidcase body and having a layer of soft, elastically deformable materialsecured to the underside thereof, said layer being operatively disposedwhen said case is closed proximate the uppermost of said trays tocushion and hold in place articles supported on the top of saiduppermost tray.
 5. The case of claim 4 wherein the pads in said traysand said layer of deformable material are comprised of a foamed plastic.6. A case for storing and transporting a plurality of delicate articlescomprising a rigid box-like enclosure having a bottom, sides and a lidthat can be raised; soft, elastically deformable cushioning padssubstantially covering the inside faces of said bottom and lid; and astack of generally horizontal artical support trays extendingsubstantially the distance between saiD pads, each of said trayscomprising a soft, elastically deformable cushioning pad having exposedtop and bottom faces proximately positioned to respectively adjacentpads, and a rigid framing element extending peripherally therearound,and each of said tray pads being stretchable out of the plane of theframe to which it is secured.
 7. The case of claim 6 wherein said traypads are comprised of foamed plastic.
 8. The case of claim 6 whereinsubstantially the entire thickness of a tray pad consists of a singlelayer of foamed plastic.
 9. A case for storing and transporting aplurality of delicate articles comprising a rigid box-like enclosurehaving a bottom, sides and a lid that can be raised; soft, elasticallydeformable cushioning pads substantially covering the inside faces ofsaid bottom and lid; a stack of generally horizontal article supporttrays extending substantially the distance between said pads, each ofsaid trays comprising a soft, elastically deformable cushioning padhaving exposed top and bottom faces proximately positioned torespectively adjacent pads, and a rigid framing element extendingperipherally therearound, and means for removing said stack as a unit,comprising a pair of oppositely disposed handles secured to thelowermost tray of said stack, and extending materially above saidlowermost tray for accessibility.
 10. A case for storing andtransporting delicate articles, comprising a case body having a bottomand enclosing sides, support means in the bottom portion of the casebody, and a plurality of collectively and individually removable traysarranged in a vertical stack on the support means, between the lower andupper limits of the sides of the case body, and each comprised of asubstantially rigid framing element having a top and a bottom and awidely dimensioned vertical opening therein, and a continuouslyuninterrupted elastically deformable pad in the opening, the body ofwhich pad substantially fills the opening and is peripherallyinterconnected with the framing element so as to be supportivelyretained in the opening with the upper and lower faces thereof extendingacross the opening substantially co-planar with the top and bottom ofthe element, said trays resting on top of one another in mutuallyadjacent relationship so that the upper face of each pad is proximate tothe lower face of the pad immediately thereabove, and said support meansoperatively supporting the stack of pads so that articles interposedbetween each pair of pads will be cushioned and held in place by therespective pads.
 11. The case according to claim 10 wherein the framingelement of each tray has an upturned rim about the top thereof.
 12. Thecase according to claim 11 wherein the rim of each tray is adapted sothat the bottom of the tray immediately thereabove can rest on the padof the respective tray, loosely within the rim thereof.
 13. The caseaccording to claim 10 wherein the framing element of each tray has aninturned flange about the bottom thereof.
 14. The case according toclaim 10 wherein the pads are adhesively bonded to the framing elementof the respective trays.
 15. The case according to claim 10 wherein thesupport means includes an elastically deformable pad having recesses forbulky articles in the upper surface thereof.
 16. The case according toclaim 10 further comprising a handle upstanding on one of the trayswhereby the stack of trays can be manually grasped and lifted from thecase body as a unit.
 17. The case according to claim 10 furthercomprising a lid on the case body, said stack further comprising anadditional tray which is arranged on top of the stack to project abovethe upper limit of the sides of the case body, said lid having anelastically deformable pad secured therein which is disposed inproximity to the additional tray to cushion and hold in place articlesto be placed therebetween.
 18. The case according to claim 17 whereinthe lid is hingedly connected to the case body.